Eli Manning better than Peyton, Tiki Barber says

By Staff

Friday, July 19, 2013

Former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber has come a long way from bashing Eli Manning's abilities as a leader. Now he feels the Giants quarterback is better than his older brother, Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning.

Barber puts more emphasis on Eli Manning's big-game performance than Peyton's statistical achievements, he said Wednesday on his CBS Sports Radio show.

"The expectation was that he was never going to be Peyton," Barber said. "I remember having these conversations with people who watched Eli in college, saying, 'He's good, but he's never going to be Peyton, he's not Peyton.' Guess what? I think he's better than Peyton.

"Because of clutch. What matters in sports? It's winning and losing. You get to the stage and what do you do? Eli's gotten there, and he's won," Barber said.

Though five years younger, Eli has won two Super Bowl championships to Peyton's one, and has an 8-3 postseason record, compared to Peyton's 9-11.

Barber questioned his former teammate's leadership skills after he retired in 2006, but now believes Eli can be one of the five greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.

"For Eli to crack the top five of all time, he's got to have a 2011 season a couple more times and win another Super Bowl and be Super Bowl MVP, and then I think he's in the discussion for the top five of all time," Barber said.